Go green and be environmentally responsible- how aware are you?

Last weeks topic of Duncan Heather "Are you an environmentally responsible designer" made me think. How many resources of nature do we use each day without a need? We as designers are responsible as we have it in our hands, what we plan and what sort of materials we use. (e.g. wood by Paul Ridley) And WE are working with nature, we want to make landscapes to look more interesting, more beautiful and worth living in them.

Isn't our whole life a life in luxury and mostly on the costs of other people and our environment? And if it is not our close environment, it is the environment of others, far away.

How many products do you buy each day that are manufactured somewhere else? It starts with food and ends with cars. Why do you buy apples from New Zealand? Why strawberries in winter from South Africa? Think healthy, be more healthy! Eat the seasons! Eat organic! Because you are what you eat. And you can afford it- just think about how much food you throw away every day, if you spend a bit more, you will be more aware and careful- I bet!

The fashion and shoe industry is big, hey ladies- how full is your wardrobe? A man once asked me- do you need all this? He is right! I don't! What do you really need?
Whatever we buy, it is mostly produced in the far east. If you buy something really cheap, it doesn't matter if a piece of cheese for 1 EUR or a T-Shirt for 5 EUR...do you think it is made with care and love?

Lu Guang, a photographer from People’s Republic of China made a documentary “Pollution in China".
Have a look, it might change your way of thinking, buying and spending.

Guiyu, Guangdong province,  rivers and reservoirs have been contaminated, a woman is washing in a seriously polluted pond. 

Shanxi Province is the most polluted area of China and shows the highest rate of birth defects. 

“In Some areas of China people’s lives were threatened because of the environmental pollution. Residents suffering from all kinds of obscured diseases, the cancer villages, increase of deformed babies, these were the results of sacrificing environment and blindly seeking economical gain.”
(Lu Guang)

Just live your life with a little bit more awareness and think twice sometimes!

Whatever you do, do it with love and passion, without hurting anyone- people, animals, nature.